Text 4]
Understanding Material Nature
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TEXT 4
अर्थे अविषमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते । अयायतो विषयानस्य स्वप्नेऽनर्थागमो यथा ॥ ४ ॥
arthe hy avidyamāne 'pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate dhyāyato viṣayān asya svapne 'narthāgamo yathā
arthe —real cause;  hi —certainly;  avidyamāne —not existing;  api —although;  saṁsṛtiḥ —the material existential condition;  na —not;  nivartate —does cease;  dhyāyataḥ —contemplating;  viṣayān —objects of the senses;  asya —of the living entity;  svapne —in a dream;  anartha —of disadvantages;  āgamaḥ —arrival;  yathā —like.
TRANSLATION
Actually a living entity is transcendental to material existence, but because of his mentality to lord it over material nature, his material existential condition does not cease, and, just as in a dream, he is affected by all sorts of disadvantages.
PURPORT
The example of a dream is very appropriate. Due to different mental conditions, in dreams we are put into advantageous and disadvantageous positions. Similarly, the spirit soul has nothing to do with this material nature, but because of his mentality to lord it over, he is put into the position of conditional existence.
Conditional existence is described here as  dhyāyato viṣayān asya .  Viṣaya  means an object of enjoyment. As long as one continues to think that he can enjoy material advantages, then he is in conditioned life, but as soon as he comes to his senses, he develops the knowledge that he is not the enjoyer, for the only enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 5.29), He is the beneficiary for all the results of sacrifices and penances ( bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām ), and He is the proprietor of all the three worlds ( sarva-loka-maheśvaram ). He is the actual friend of all living entities. But instead of leaving proprietorship, enjoyment and the actual position as the friend of all living entities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we claim that we are the proprietors, the enjoyers and the friends. We perform philanthropic work,